


Eugaia Chronical

by Kitsune Baxter (Niksya_Gaiami)



Category: Eugaia Chronicals, Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Fantasy Animals, Fantasy Ecosystem, Fantasy World, Gen, Magic, No beta reader, Quests, Tags to be added, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26176042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niksya_Gaiami/pseuds/Kitsune%20Baxter
Summary: When a thief hides out in the Clerranto Jungle, I was expecting a simple, easy capture mission. After all, no one knows this jungle as well as I do after nine years living in it. But when the Hunter's Guild Office fails to keep hold of the thief, I'm sent off on a directionless wild gehi-chase. Because no one else can keep this guy for longer than an hour. At least I've stumbled across an apprentice, even if I shouldn't have one. Tae and I can handle things though.Now I just have to figure out where the thief went...





	1. Chapter 1

_ Chapter 1 _

It was a beautiful day, with the sunshine filtering down well through the dense canopy above. The flowers were in full bloom, the gillis were only lazily waving their lures, anticipating the likely slow and lazy prey. The smaller pacaar birds twittered their songs, well hidden in the branches. The day was absolutely gorgeous and oppressively warm. I was glad that I favored lighter armor as I weaved through vines and lures, tracking my quarry. 

Usually, I would be traversing the vines and branches but my target today was not my usual sort. Rather than one of the many megafaunas that call this realm home, I’m on the trail of a smaller creature. About my size, actually. Thus the need to be closer to even notice the tracks. 

Though, the bright, distinctly yellow light that was shining on the other side of the wall of moss and vines to my right was perhaps something even the blind would see. I glide through the barely-there obstacle to the other side with little enough trouble to see none other than my target, and a couple of friends it seems. The bright yellow light they’re wielding starts oozing orange too before flashing white and collapsing around the three, whatever ritual they were trying dissolving around them.

I wanted to laugh, but I refrained. It wasn’t nice to laugh at the disadvantaged. Instead, I weaved my magic, one that glowed a deep dark violet, over the bow in my hand. A violet arrow is suddenly knocked and locked onto my primary target’s magic. I lose the arrow and it soars straight to its mark. With my target nullified, I turn to his partners and summon two bright arrows, not violet but scarlet, and once again, my arrows find their marks. These two collapses as well, but unlike their friend, tied up with violet threads cocooning him, they are dead. The scarlet arrows dissolving from where they pierced deep into eye sockets. 

I check the dead men for what the thief stole or something that looked like it could be what the Hunter’s Guild wanted. They didn’t include a description in the warrant-bounty, which was odd but it was their choice to make I suppose. They have to know it makes ensuring retrieval difficult.

I pulled on the violet magic around my target and levitated the cocoon just off the ground. I carefully crafted a tether and attached the floating cocoon to my belt. It needed to not be visibly floating. Bad enough I can’t stop overcompensating, leading to what should be purple looking violet, I needn’t draw extra attention by blatantly disregarding the division between indigo and purple magic. 

With how color conscious people are getting these days, it’s a miracle that no one’s asked me about my magic. Maybe I’ve got people’s trust. Or maybe it’s the living alone in the scary monster jungle that leads to people not asking me too many questions. Not many were willing to deal with pudoda packs trying to loot food stores or risk being fooled by a gilliflower’s lure.

People in the closest town told horror stories about the traveler’s gilliflowers in particular.  _ Apparently _ , the vague shape of a woman is enough for some merchants. Honestly, until my first trip to this little town, I doubted how successful the traveler was. But the town was founded by an exhausted merchant caravan, and the gilliflower terrifies them more than almost anything. Almost anything.

This is why I carefully disguise the levitation of the cocoon as best I can to make it look like the cocoon was merely being dragged behind me. Just in case someone else has wandered into this part of Clerranto Jungle.

My tether of violet could certainly manage to hold onto the cocoon without snapping, but I went through the process of mastering indigo magic, and the magic expenditure is orders of magnitude less than the physical expenditure of dragging a fully grown man by my belt. So I’m taking the lazier, if riskier, option of using the gravity nature to the indigo magic weaved through my natural red. At least to a point.

So, it’s a breezy walk back to the edge of the Clerranto Jungle before pragmatism takes over and the cocoon makes an almost inaudible “thud” on the detritus. I sigh as I hold tight to the tether’s anchor on my belt and begin to haul the cocoon the rest of the way to Keep’s Rest. It was longer by time, if shorter by distance, getting to the town square. There the townsfolk had set up their bounty board and not far from that was the Hunter’s Offices. 

I pushed open the door to the office and dragged the cocooned man to a cell. I had the door locked quickly but I left him in the cocoon for a bit longer. It was magic, so it wasn’t going to do any harm to keep him in there for a bit longer. My magic was also currently looking for what the thief took from the Guild. After all, there was a separate reward for finding it. I left my magic to do its work while I went to talk to the coordinator.

I swung open his office door and was greeted with a loud squawk from Coordinator Puck’s pacaar as she swooped low over my head and out the door. The bright green bird circled the office’s interior before banking towards the barracks and mess hall. Puck sighs as he turns to me, bright green eyes shining in annoyed amusement at the bird's antics. The two greens matched rather well

“I take it you caught our thief?” He asked, “I don’t know why but I was kind of expecting the smaller quarry to be a challenge for you.”

“Hah, maybe if this one had more magical talent.” I chuckled, “I didn’t even feel him trying to escape.”

Puck shook his head “At this rate, I want to send you to headquarters. They need talents like you because apparently, this man had escaped their quote, unquote ‘best’ at capture.” Puck laughed, “You don’t even specialize in capture!”

I laughed with Puck and thought of the other two still in the jungle. Probably pudoda food by now. I wondered how powerful all three of them really were.

“I certainly don’t, but he’s here in one piece, like HQ wanted,” I told Puck.

He nodded “Probably only want him like that so they could have the honors themselves. Whatever the thief stole it was classified. All the bounties say grand theft but not what was stolen.”

“Something shiny enough to land him with treason too, Puck, so above even your pay grade,” I responded. Puck chuckled one more time before tossing my reward at me.

“We have some scouts out investigating reports of kaaveo in Clerranto, so come back tomorrow for something more normal for you.” Puck said as I left. I nodded and headed for the cells. I dispelled the violet cocoon, leaving it up to the office guards to keep the still unconscious man there. They should be able to manage that.

I turn to leave and feel a cold whine pass through me. Alarmed, I look around, but still see nothing. I grumble to myself as I make my way back to Clerranto.

The walk back to the jungle is much quicker. I’m back among the foliage in practically no time, much more at ease the moment I cross the trees. I find a sturdy vine and use it to hoist myself high into the tree branches. The boughs are thick, acting as passable roads and aided in the task by the thick moss growing over nearly any surface it can. In the high canopy, I still hear pacaar songs as I follow the familiar path back to my home. Up and down and with a few leaps across small gaps, I find myself at the partly dead and hollowed tree I’d claimed as mine. 

This particular tree must have had a bad infestation before something fixed that problem. The tree was healthy all around this part, but here something had hollowed out much of the trunk. There had been some dry, dead wood occupying much of the space here, but it had been simple to clear it fully and set it up as a home. Now about two-thirds of the trunk of this tree had been hallowed. The space was about three meters tall. The walls had maps and notes pinned up on almost every side. The only exception was where the mattress stuffed with soft grasses and flowers lay in a corner with a similarly stuffed pillow and a fine net surrounding the whole thing. That corner was farthest from the entrance, much closer were the desk, chair, and bookshelf made from the old wood I’d had to clear. 

I sat in the simple wooden chair and examined the reward for retrieving that thief. Quite a few pretty silver coins were in the pouch, along with three low-level magic crystals one orange, one yellow, and one green. Nothing incredible compared to my usual take, but astonishing given I was only fetching another person, not a kaaveo, like Puck promised for tomorrow, or even clearing a large number of pudoda…

Absently I wondered what Puck had earlier, what had the thief taken? He had to have hidden it somewhere that wasn’t on him or his friends as the two dead men were barely even clothed and the thief himself had only a few scraps of paper and a fine silver chain. My magic couldn’t pick up anything interesting aside from the sheer quality of the material. I slipped the chain into my trinket pouch. It would make a fine trophy from the hunt.

The chain was slid into one pouch of many added with steadily improving stitches onto the satchel I took everywhere. I liked being prepared. Things would float between the bag and the pockets in my clothes but a few things remained constant. Sewing kit, bow maintenance tools, a handful of daggers, bandages, and gauze, disinfectant, two days worth of dried rations for myself, some maps I’d sketched of Clerranto Jungle and the nearby Keep’s Rest, the list honestly went on. The most important item at the moment was the flashing purple communication crystal buried at the bottom of the bag, underneath the kooxel jerky. When I had hold of it I sparked it to answer the comm.

Above the pointed tip of the crystal now hovered a purple-tinted image of one of the Vice Guild Masters. The woman was older, with graying red hair and a stern expression. Her position was indicated by the silver ornament that twisted itself around her right ear. The small indigo crystal that hung from its lowest point was likely made from her magic.

“Is this the Hunter who retrieved the thief the Guild had a warrant-bounty on?” The Vice-Master asked.

“Yes ma’am.” I replied, “Is there something wrong, ma’am?”

“The thief has escaped your Coordinator’s custody.” The woman said, “The Guild Master is requesting you recapture the man and personally escort him to the Hunter’s Guild Hall in Brillia. As this is a Guild Request, the full resources of the guild are available to you.” 

As this was a Guild Request I had little recourse but to fulfill the request to the best of my ability and in the quickest way I could.

“Of course Vice-Master.” I said, “I will report to the local office in the morning before leaving to track my target.” And she can’t push farther than that. The Guild has rules about letting Hunters sleep.

“Of course. Good luck Hunter.” The Vice Guild Master said as a farewell before disconnecting the comm.

I slump over the desk and theatrically slide on to the floor for the benefit of no one but myself. As small quarry tracking wasn’t my specialty, I may very well need that luck. I was looking forward to the relative ease of a familiar task with the kaaveo that’s probably returned to that one cave nearby. Instead, I have a manhunt scheduled for the foreseeable future.

I lay like a puddle of a person for a minute before picking myself up. I had a small meal and went to sleep hoping Puck would have some sort of lead for me tomorrow morning. A general direction at least.

I woke up the next morning to sunshine on my face, as usual. I rolled off my bed and sifted through the scraps of paper that had been on the thief. There were six scraps, and two were his last two meal receipts. One of the other four was a poorly sketched map of what might be Keep’s Rest. There was a second sketched map of a place I didn’t recognize and the last two scraps had phrases that made no sense. I was likely lacking context, especially since one seemed to be in another language, but the one I could read said ‘Read Red’ which could be anything from a code cipher to a book recommendation. Looking at the unreadable scrap and back to ‘Read Red’ had me considering the code cipher idea.

I pocket the unknown map, writing, and the ‘Read Red’ scrap. I grab my bow and tie it across my back. Then I grab my satchel bag and leave for the Keep’s Rest Hunter’s Office. Puck had some explaining and I hoped it was an interesting story that landed me in this predicament.

I was sadly disappointed. The man was more magically talented than the company he kept led me to believe. He managed to use indigo magic to slip past the guards and break the locks. Puck hadn’t even known the thief had left until he was leaving for the night and saw the passed out guards and open doors.

The thief had gone looking through the desks. If he was looking for his things or more things to take was unclear but only a few silvers were missing. There was no clear indication of where the thief may have gone.

“Good thing you use purple magic, yeah?” Puck said with a sheepish grin. I sighed and shook my head. Puck’s expression turned sad and I rolled my eyes while grinning at the man. 

“Don’t fret over it, Puck. The guy was stronger than I realized, too.” I told him. I didn’t want the kind man to feel guilty about my directionless gehi-chase. He smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes. I felt my expression fall in response, but Puck managed to brighten a little more.

“I want to see you back here at some point.” Puck said.

I nodded, my grin returning full force, “Definitely.” I held my hand out. Puck grasped just below my wrist and I returned the gesture in kind, pulling him in for a pat on the shoulder before breaking away and turning to leave the office.

“Where are you going to start?” Puck asked as I opened the front door.

“The closest town for ranges.” I said, “Where else but Thrylkeld?”


	2. Chapter 2

_ Chapter 2 _

Thrylkeld isn’t a large town. It’s barely even a town, but it’s a veritable city compared to Keep’s Rest. It had a pub and a general store instead of just a general store with counter seating available. That alone spoke volumes. However, there was no inn. No one came out this far into the wilds for anything less than family usually.

So that left me in a bit of a situation. I, myself, had no family and no friends in Thrylkeld. I reached the town as the sun was setting so I decided to head to the pub. I had the silver from my capture of the thief still, so maybe with that, I could bargain for a roof for a night. Maybe if they’re gifted they’ll be interested in the crystals.

I sat at the bar of the pub, nursing a glass of cider. Apvels were widely found around Eugaia, and apvel cider was a cheap drink just about anywhere you went. Inconspicuous too, as every fifth person in all of Eugaia drank the stuff with some frequency. Less inconspicuous was my face. To be more precise, my eyes.

“You’re new.” A young man said as he sat next to me at the bar.

“Passing through, actually.” I told him, “I’m from Keep’s Rest but business needs me to go to Brisa.” Not quite a lie. Brisa was the only entrance to the only path through the Brisnora Timberland. It was its own bustling hub with its own dealings but the Timberland surrounds Brillia and the path is the safest way through it. The only remotely safe way through, on account of the Timberland is a magical defense for Brillia. Anyone going to Brillia goes to Brisa, but not everyone going to Brisa is going to Brillia.

“Quite a ways off. I imagine you want a room for the night then?” He asked

“Would be appreciated, though I’d take a couch if it’s all I can get. I really can’t linger here long, so no point being picky.” I looked more closely at the man. He had fair eyes and dark hair and tanned skin. He was modestly dressed in unremarkable clothes with few distinctive marks. In fact, the only distinguishing feature I could make out on the man was a bandage over the left part of his face which was likely covering an injury of some sort. I could sense the man was gifted, though not strongly. The only slightly bluish hue to his grey eyes was more than enough indication.

“Well, I have a guest room and some chores. If I could get a second set of hands, I think I could lend you one in return. I was coming here because my brother is usually here, but he isn’t right now and I really want to get these things done.” The man said

I think about the offer before nodding and offering him my by-name, “I’m called Fenix.”

“I’m Henn. My brother is Tyes, you’ll probably see him at some point.” The man gave him and his brother’s actual names, so he is naturally gifted and untrained. That also explained his open approach. Or maybe I should just stop expecting the same attitude from people here in the wilds and ranges that were found in the cities. Though the bartender did seem nervous when I had approached, wearily watching me and not meeting my eyes. I imagine the bright red would be off-putting alone if not for the silvery hair. There are stories told about both, some good some not. Those are the reason I’ve moved around so much in my life.

I pulled myself from thoughts of the past and accepted Henn’s offer, “What kind of chores are we dealing with?”

Apparently twenty minutes due East of Thrylkeld was a relatively small clearing between woodlands and jungle that permitted kooxel pastures to be built. Henn and Tyes were the last two boys of a long family of kooxel farmers. Tyes used to be in charge of the whole farm when he recently started a downward spiral that had him in the pub most days. This was very concerning to his younger brother Henn, who had recently taken over tending the kooxel but didn’t know what was up with Tyes. 

It is a wonder what simply letting worried people talk will get you. 

Tyes has been so promisingly gifted he had been sent to Brillia to be formally trained in magic, despite the low income of the household. Tyes managed a scholarship. Henn here had been born while Tyes was away and was six when the older man returned from his time at school. Not long after there was an incident that killed their parents. Henn doesn’t know anything about what happened, but Tyes was an adult so Henn was raised by his older brother.

The way Henn tells the story gives no clues. He has no suspicions, but the whole tale is...interesting. Perhaps I can pick up on it because I’ve also attended magic schools in Brillia. Graduated from the most prestigious one there. The word ‘scholarship’ was suspicious because it was exceedingly rare to hear about scholarships to these schools.

Scholarships students had usually sold their souls for it. Those that didn’t have worse waiting for them at home. Given what Henn said, their parents made the deal. Something happened while Tyes was away at school…

But Henn only needed me to feed the kooxel their grassy feed and help with some household chores like cleaning the windows.

They were large windows that stretched far higher than Henn could reach and it seemed Tyes never taught Henn magic. He’d never even told the boy he was gifted.

And wasn’t that an interesting conversation.

“So, why didn’t you do this?” I had asked. The color in his eyes indicated either blue or maybe indigo magic, either way, the boy should be more than able to lift and manipulate the cleaning rag to wash some windows.

But Henn was confused, ”because I’m not gifted?” He said that like a question, like me asking had him asking himself too.

“You have color in your eyes.” I said to him, “You’re gifted just untrained. Hey,” I think to ask just now, “If your brother was formally trained, what’s his by-name? It’s sort of rude to address an unfamiliar mage with their actual name so…”

“By-name? Tyes said I wasn’t gifted and hasn’t taught me about magic stuff...but you said the color in my eyes means I’m gifted?”

I shrugged “I’ve never seen it mean anything else and given your brother is gifted, it would be weirder if you weren’t.”

“You know it’s rude to go blurting out well-kept secrets like that, Red.” Behind Henn, a similarly dark-haired, and tanned man stood. He looked older and physically stronger than Henn and this man’s eyes almost shone indigo.

The rag dropped from the top of the tall window to the floor but it was much too late to matter.

“Fenix actually.” I introduced myself.

“Remington.” Tyes gave his by-name with a half-smile. He was likely aware his brother had already given me his actual name, giving me an upper hand, “I was...I suppose you have questions, bro?”

“Why did you tell me I wasn’t gifted?” Henn asked.

Remington gave a deep sigh, “That’s a long story, bro, and it starts a few years before you were born. Are you sure you want your new friend here while I tell you this for the first time?”

Henn looked between me and Remington for a minute. He turned to me and gestured to the dining room and the kitchen behind it, “The chores I wanted help with are done, go ahead and help yourself to the kitchen, I’ll show you to the room when my brother and I are done speaking.”

I nodded at Henn “Scream if you need help.” I half muttered as I half ran into the kitchen. 

I was caught off guard by Ty-Remington showing up. I was hoping to have more warning but in retrospect, it is keeping in line with what I should have expected. Henn rarely knows when T-Remington is getting home so of course, he’s here at a reasonable time when some strange red-eyed mage is informing his little brother he’s lied too of the truth. 

There are some tougher chunks of kooxel meat in their cooler-box and some wild tubers in my pack that I’d found on the road. I rifled through their cupboards as Henn had given me permission to earlier. I found some familiar herbs and spices and smiled. 

I cleaned and cut tubers and filled a large pot with water before tossing the starchy roots into the pot with some herbs that do well boiled. I place the stew pot on the mount swinging it over a fire. By the time the water boils most of those roots should be softened.

I cut the kooxel roughly, season it, and start to brown it. The sound of the meat hissing in the pan almost completely covers the shouting coming from the living room. It’s relatively quiet. Mostly indistinct at this distance, but it’s definitely a fight happening.

I turn to see the water boiling and oil the mount out of the fire enough to dump the meat into the stew. I give it a few stirs before placing it next to the fire, not as direct as it had been though.

“At least it smells like you can cook.” I heard Remington’s voice behind me. I turn to face him, the stew has reached a point where I needed to leave it be.

“How’s Henn?” I asked.

“Fine.” Remington said, “For all your skill with indigo magic it’s not your affinity.”

I shrugged, “Indigo mages do not own the market on personal integrity.” I waved a hand dismissively, “anyway, you explained it already. I’ve put effort into learning indigo magic. Unsurprisingly, indigo traits may have rubbed off on me.”

“Why not yellow?”

I laughed, “Why would I settle?”

“It’d be less intimidating when people figure it out,” Remington said.

“Yellow is less useful, and orange is harder to mimic,” I told him

Remington nodded, ”Henn mentioned you were going to Brisa.”

”Yup.”

”Only Brisa?” Remington asked.

I didn't say anything for a moment.

Remington nodded.

“Thought as much.” He sighed, “Henn is going to ask to come along. He wants training and doesn’t trust me to train him right. I don’t want him  _ in _ a school in Brillia. So  _ if _ you go there, you keep him out of those places.”

“You assume a lot, Rem.” I said, “I’m not technically a mage, I’m employed by the Hunter’s Guild. I have a thief to catch and bring before the Guild Masters in Brillia.”

“Not a mage, no.” Remington agreed, “Unlike Henn, I talk to the old busybodies, and I’ve heard stories about you, Fenix. Not by that name, though.” Remington smiled ruefully, “The merchants who travel from Keep’s Rest have friends here they stay with. They talk about the demon who hunts in the Clerranto. That they single-handedly fell beasts that have slain whole teams of Hunters. I’m sure the rumors are  _ greatly exaggerated  _ but what wasn’t exaggerated was the extent of your gift.” Remington looked pointedly at my white hair. 

Yes, of course. Let’s conveniently forget about how the nature of my gift makes me a target. No, let us focus on those old fairy tales of white-haired super mages. There is some evidence that white-haired mages were exceptional, pure magic being white and all. With how affinities display it has never seemed like a far leap to say magic itself marked white-haired mages, and stories say that mark can be given to an apprentice as well, but red magic is feared.

I tell people I’m albino. The well-read never believe it.

“You could have avoided this, Remington.” I told the man, “If you’d just told him...he wouldn’t ask me.”

Remington gave a mirthless laugh, “And if I’d asked more questions about that scholarship our parents found I wouldn’t be in anything close to this position.”

I sighed and nodded, “I can’t deny the possibility but no one knows about Brillia Mage Scholars until they attend the mage schools there. But not letting your gifted brother know he is gifted? What did you reasonably expect to happen when you decided that? I’ll have you know that keeping that kind of information from someone is potentially dangerous, him finding out was the  _ best _ possible outcome!” I was shouting, and glaring at Tyes. I could feel my magic flaring up and worked to tie it down. I was angry, but I didn’t want to wreck Rem’s home. I knew he felt it, with the mental slip I’d almost managed to skewer him accidentally. I’ll leave it to him to decide whether that was the power of a mage --- someone magically trained, I’m not a mage --- knowing your actual name or...not. I have my own decision to make on the subject.

“If you’re asking me to take your little brother on as an apprentice due to your failures as such a mentor, then I’ll have you know it comes at a cost.” I said, looking at Remington eye-to-eye, “You owe me a  _ favor _ Rem. I’ll let you know what it is when I need it.”


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

I can’t say Henn surprised anyone. The next morning when I woke up, Henn was sitting outside of my guest room with a packed bag. He asked if I could train him. He asked if I could take him with me to Brisa.

“I’m not _just_ going to Brisa.” I told him, “And I’m not going straight there. Technically I’m not a mage and therefore not qualified to have an apprentice at all.”

Henn looked surprised, “What do you mean you’re not a mage? Your eyes are redder than the gemstones on the Emperor’s circlet, you _showed_ me your magic!”

I smiled at Henn, “All that means is that I'm gifted and trained. Which I am. But an official mage who is also certified to have an apprentice is a whole different thing. First, you have to be a member of the Mage Guild. Not just a member either, a Scholarly Member, which is a high-mid level position in the guild that requires tri-annual evaluation.”

Henn looked rather interested, “Huh, you know a lot about it. So, are you not a mage because you’re not a high enough member in the Mage Guild?”

I shook my head, “I’m not a member of the Mage Guild at all, Henn. I’m part of the Hunter’s Guild. I’d be a mage if I was at any level of membership in the Mage Guild.”

“If you’re part of the Hunter’s Guild, why do you know so much about the Mage Guild?” Henn asked.

“Because I used to be part of the Mage Guild.” I said, “I...switched to the Hunter’s Guild about nine years ago.”

“Oh? So, were you ever a Scholarly Member?” Henn asked.

“Even if I was a Scholarly Member or higher when I departed the Mage Guild, I’d still have missed _three_ apprenticeship evaluations already, and have _expired_ qualifications, if any.” I said, “I never said no, Henn, I just said I wasn’t currently qualified to do what you were asking me to do. And warning you that there’s more to my trip than _just_ going to Brisa. Full disclosure and all.”

“Oh,” Henn said, pausing for a moment before grabbing his things from the floor, “let’s go then.”

“One thing before we go galavanting off, Henn.” I stopped the young man, “If you are going to be traveling with me, and more so if you’re training, we need to come up with a by-name for you.”

“What’s that?” He asked

“Names have power in magic, so magic users use nicknames instead. Your brother's by-name is Remington, so you should use that name when talking about him to strangers or in insecure locations.” I explained, “There are people who change their by-name so you can choose to do so later, but for now…” I paused for a moment, “How about Taetym? Tae for short?”

Henn shrugged, “I guess. If it means you’ll train me.”

I laughed a little as I finally started moving from the entry of the guest room, “Come on Tae, I’ll start teaching you once we leave town, but I want to be well-stocked and well-fed before we go. The next town is a bit far away.”

‘A bit far away’ may have been an understatement. While Thrylkeld may have been less isolated than Keep’s Rest, it was only barely. The next town was no bigger than Thrylkeld and it was named Aurivin. It was also just as far from Thrylkeld as Thrylkeld was from Keep’s Rest. It had taken me two weeks to make the trek to Thrylkeld. That had been alone. He-Taetym wasn’t as familiar with the demands of traveling on foot. 

Maybe I should look for some kind of mount or vehicle in Aurivin. It hadn’t crossed my mind before as with no real direction to go there is no rush to get much of anywhere. The only reason I was the one given this quest is that I managed to hold the thief when no one else has, but I still don’t know how to track a thief. Not one with such pitiful magic anyway. The Guild Masters are aware I specialize in megafauna, that I’d taken the original job due to it’s ‘emergency’ status and the word ‘treason’ under offenses. I had explicitly mentioned such on the acceptance form, so they couldn’t come back at me if the thief had been delivered dead. A hunter trained for megafauna isn’t usually used to a people-sized quarry. I don't know what most people can take.

Back to the idea of a mount for Taetym and myself. Or maybe just a small one for Taetym. Something mildly embarrassing to ride to encourage him to build the endurance to walk instead. Then the beast could be the pack animal those ‘mounts’ are usually expected to be…

Good plan, Fenix. This has potential.

Aurivin may have some lileen or lobuar, which are excellent as both pack animals and mounts. Naturally expected given their hybrid nature. That hybrid nature also means that unlike with liluar or lobeen, they won’t have to be stabled for a few nights every season.

We are maybe a week outside of Thrylkeld by the time I’ve decided to find a hybrid mount for Tae. The poor boy is ill-prepared for the trip and I’m tempted to turn around. At the current rate, we may arrive at Aurivin in three more weeks, but I may arrive with a corpse rather than an apprentice. Depending on the state of it there is more short-term value there, but Rem would be upset if I killed his little brother with exhaustion. And a living apprentice’s long-term value usually outweighs the selling-price of organs on a back-water’s black market. Usually. Of course, Tae likely wouldn’t mind if I slowed the pace down. At least until we have the mount as an option. Slowing down might mean we don’t reach Aurivin for almost six weeks, but then again there is no rush right now. I have no leads, no direction. Maybe slowing down will give the thief time to give people something to gossip about, something I can use for a lead. 

The quick pace and subsequent exhaustion had lead to Taetym not having the energy to train once camp was set. A slower pace _really_ did seem like the solution.

Perhaps this was a case of skewed perspective… I glanced sidelong towards where Taetym lay on a bedroll. 

“Taetym,” I spoke somewhat quietly. This wasn’t important enough to wake the boy.

Luckily he was still awake, “Yeah Fenix?” I smiled slightly at the wildly informal address. I’d decided that since I was currently unqualified Taetym wasn’t obligated to use the proper address and titles. They’d always annoyed me more than they accomplished anything. Instead, the boy-man used my by-name like every other person.

“Would you say I’ve been moving exceptionally quickly this last week?” I asked cautiously

“Compared to what I’m used to, yeah. Is it a mage thing or what?” Taetym asked

“I’m not a mage” I corrected him, “And it’s less a general thing and more a me thing. I’m going to try slowing down so I stop killing you. Rem would probably be upset.”

Tae huffed but said nothing at the mention of his brother, instead just turning around with a quickly muttered “good night”

It took two days for me to blurt out to Taetym that Remington had pre-asked me to mentor him. Taetym wasn’t exactly happy about it but calmed down when I’d let him know that Rem hadn’t done much to sway me. He even smiled a little when I told him Remington had failed to sway me because Taetym himself had already been persuasive enough without even knowing.

“It’s really why I mentioned my lack of qualifications. If I was taking on an apprentice while unqualified I wasn’t going to do it with said apprentice unaware. That’s rather morally dubious. If you said that it was a deal-breaker I would have gotten you in contact with the Mage Guild Hall in Aurivin. They’d figure out whether one-on-one apprenticeship or formal schooling was more appropriate. If the latter, I’d have funded the scholarship for you. So any favors you would have owed would be to me.”

“Why does that matter? I know T-Remington had a shady one but they aren’t all like that right?” Taetym had asked

“Unless you know your benefactor personally, it’s likely shady. Even if you know them, you might not know them as well as you think.” 

Taetym hadn’t pushed the topic past that and hasn't broached the topics of his brother or Brillia mage school scholarships since. He also shuts down for a few minutes whenever I bring up his brother. He keeps moving usually but doesn't respond for a while.

Taetym fell asleep before he spoke up again this time. Leaving me sitting in the night alone with my thoughts. I had completely forgotten that most people take eight weeks on this trip. It had been nine years since I’d traveled with someone who still needed to rest for more than five minutes at a time. Which is to say anyone other than myself as far as I know. The supernatural endurance was one of the subtler aspects of red magic. Only needing to sit for a handful of minutes then standing well-rested is something others only notice if they’re aware of just how long and how quickly I’d been moving. 

I tried to recall the pace I’d kept when I was regularly training apprentices. It was still on the quick side but that had only been some hard exercise to them. Something they would rest off in an hour and be ready for real training. Later it would barely be a proper warm-up to some of my students. They were...talented wielders of magic if nothing else. But they did ask _me_ to train them… Their paths we're hardly unexpected. ...In most cases…

That pace was one that would have them near a pretty clearing around late afternoon to dusk tomorrow, a nicer campsite than any they’ve used this week. Tae will like it.

I was right on most fronts. The slower pace left Taetym with enough breath to hold a conversation for most of the walk. Only the last hour had him breathless and we were at the flowery clearing around mid-afternoon. Taetym rested for about an hour or two while we discussed theory before Taetym felt well enough to try some practical lessons.

Taetym stood in front of me, looking apprehensive. I focused my magic into my eyes before focusing on him. Color around Taetym faded so that everything looked monochrome aside from the heart shape hovering a few inches in front of the center of his chest. It hovered there calmly giving off a sky blue light. I nodded, my suspicions confirmed, before I pulled my magic back and grinned at Taetym.

“Blue, not indigo.” I told him, “so we’ll start with summoning blue magic attacks. Once you can sustain the magic long enough to complete a bullet-pattern sequence we can move forward.”

Taetym looked nervous still, “I don’t...know any pattern sequences.”

“Bet you don’t know how to form a magic bullet yet either.” I told the boy, “One step at a time Tae.”

He nodded. I approached him, pure white magic swirling around my fingers.

“White and grey bullets are easiest. Grey will just pass through people, you can use them for diversions or communication. White is just basic damage.” I explained, “ I want you to search within yourself for your soul. It’s that blue heart you just saw. Look for it and when you feel it pull your magic from within and bring it to your hands.”

Taetym nodded again before his eyes slid shut. I watched as his breathing slowed and waited as he searched. After a few minutes, white and grey and pale blue tendrils of magic start trailing their way down from where Taetym’s soul rested to the tips of his fingers. I stayed quiet for a moment longer and the grey brightened to white. 

Taetym opened his eyes and they widened when he saw the magic around him.

“Very good.” I praised the kid with a smile, “now focus all that magic into a form.” As I said it, the magic around my fingers shaped itself into three arrowheads. “Any shape. I knew someone who made feather bullets. You didn’t want to underestimate those bullets or their caster. I just like arrows.” I grinned, gesturing to my bow sling across my back.

Taetym nodded, his eyes sliding shut again as he focused on his hands. I watched the magic condense into a clay-like substance before Taetym started molding it physically. It’s a visualization technique that’s commonly taught, and I wonder if he picked it up from Remington or if Taetym was just that good.

Taetym molds his magic into many small shapes. I try to get a better look but the shoes themselves are blurry around the edges like Taetym doesn’t quite know what he’s visualizing himself.

I tried to think of a way to help. I tried to remember what I’d said to the apprentices I taught while in the Mage Guild. Then I remembered none of them were as untrained as Taetym. I breathed deeply and tried to remember forming bullets for the first time. It was a while ago that I was in such basic training. My magic took different forms back then. My first bullets we're a pair of throwing daggers, which I then threw at the brat girl who had spent the morning snickering behind her hand while watching the upperclassmen levitate me out the fifth-story window. The girl was always the _worst_ at dodging and the white magic had flashed red at the last second as the blade touched her soul.

It had shattered instantly. The blades had disappeared with the light in her eyes. No one had been paying attention, almost everyone had bullets out, no one knew for sure who had killed her.

Except her and me.

Best we don't use that…but before that, while molding the magic I remembered how I pulled it in and defined the shape. Taking the clay-like magic in my hands and with nothing but my imagination and determination I pulled the magic into a pair of wickedly sharp blades.

I stepped closer to Taetym and tried to explain the experience of forming defined bullets. Taetym tried for a while longer, but I could see he was tiring. I called it a night, we could work more on it tomorrow evening. At our smallish pace towards Aurivin, Taetym may be where my Guild apprentices started by the time we arrive.


End file.
